Vol 1 Unable to harm Stella

The confused spectators turned their gazes to Stella's right shoulder. Intetsu's blade had indeed landed there, but it was completely stopped. Ikki's full-powered strike couldn't damage Stella at all.

"…So in the end, it turns out like this."

Setting aside his exasperation, Ikki once again took a large step back to escape the scorching heat, increasing the gap between them. His opponent was using magic as a shield, and an attack without equally strong magic couldn't harm a shielded Blazer. Ikki's magic was too limited, too weak. However excellent his techniques might be, lacking a Blazer's most important trait meant he couldn't even pierce the magic power Stella was releasing subconsciously.

Aura capacity―the total spiritual energy that a Blazer could spend in using his abilities. That attribute couldn't be increased with effort. It was locked at birth, bound by the weight of destiny… a human being's predetermined value.

Great people were given greatness to make great achievements. From the moment they were born, everyone had a place in an unquestionable hierarchy. In other words, the talent Stella had carried since birth became a firm wall and stopped Ikki's sword.

"It leaves a bad taste, winning like this…."

"As I thought, Stella-san understood it right away. My Intetsu can't injure you at all."

"Naturally. And because I understood, I challenged you to this duel not just in magic, but also in swordsmanship, to show that my strength comes from more than talent. But it didn't go how I wanted… I'll admit it. This battle, I'll only win because of that talent."

Ikki was strong. The words about effort he had uttered weighed more than those of her past opponents. With the talent of a normal Blazer, or even a bit less, he would've beaten Stella in this match. It was vexing, but Ikki didn't even have that. If he gave "I lost to her talent" as an excuse for his defeat, she wouldn't deny it. He had a right to say such things.